Steam boiler



3 Sheets-Sheet l N. M. LOWER STEAM BOILER Original Filed June 21, 1941 0 OOO nwO INVENTOR. Mar/401v M Lowe-E %xe%u April 15, 1947.

April 15, 1947. N. MQLOWER 2,419,150

STEAM BOILER Original Filed June 21, 12341 3 SheetsSheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

Na'rHn/v M l. arr FA BY April-15, 1947. N. M. LOWER S TEAM BO ILER Original Filed June 21, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 IN VEN TOR.

A n T'HHN M L owe-e Patented Apr. 15, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE June 21, 1941.

1945, Serial No. 594,961

8 Claims. (Cl. 122-463) My invention pertains to steam boilers, particularly boilers of the locomotive type, such as embody meansv for superheating the steam. An object of the invention is to improve generally upon boilers employing superheaters, particularly, among other things, by simplifying their construction and rendering freer the steam flow. Other objects of the invention, and advantages secured thereby, will appear from the following specification and my' claims.

By way of example, a locomotive boiler constructed in. accordance with my invention is shown in the accompanying drawings and described in the following specification. However, I. wish it to be understood that the invention can be embodied in other forms, and that changes can be made in the particular form selected from description and illustration, without exceeding the scope thereof, as defined by the appended claims.

In the drawings? Figure 1 shows the boiler in sectional elevation;

Figure 2 is a section through the superheater looking rearward, the section being taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged section through the superheater looking forward, the section being taken on the line 33 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view showing one of the flue tubes and the manner of securing it in place;

Figures 5 and 6 are detail views showing a means employed for facilitating the replacement of flue tubes;

Figure '7 is an, enlarged fragmentary plan, par' tially broken away, showing the inlet and outlet chambers of the superheater, with the throttle valve disposed in the outlet chamber; and

. Figure 8 is a sectional view of the parts shown in. Figure 7'.

, Like reference characters refer to like parts throughout the following specification and the several figures of. the drawings.

The boiler herein shown comprises a shell Ill having at the forward end thereof a smoke box II from which issues a stack I2, and, at the rear end, a fire box l3. Between the fire box I3 and the smoke box I I (and partially surrounding the fire box) is the boiler proper, which includes a front water chamber I, a rear water chamber 2., and an intermediate superheater compartment divided into a superheater chamber 3, steam in let chamber 4, and steam outlet chamber 5. These chambers are created by dividing up the space between the front flue sheet, l4, and rear flue sheet, I5, by means of partitions I6 and I1.

This application filed- May 21,

I 2 I A plurality o-f'flue tubes I8 are disposed in, the. front and rear flue sheets, l4 and I5, and through the partitions I6 and I! to carry the products, of combustion from the fire box l3 to the smoke box II whence they find their exit through the stack I2. The flue tubes I8- are materially longer than is usual in locomotive boiler construction. Water is admitted to the front chamber I through the inlet, or injector, orifice I9. Being relatively cold, the water will move downwardly to the lower portion of the chamber I, and, receiving heat from the fiue tubes l8 on the waydown, will rise at or near the rear part ofthe chamber I. Thus-there is set up in the front chamber I a rotating circulation (as indicated by the arrows), causing the water to be thoroughly heated and any scale, sludge or other sediment is deposited at the bottom of the chamber whence it may be blown off by means of ,a blow-off cook 20. An outside pipe 2i connects the front chamber I with the rear chamber 2. This pipe has its inlet and outlet connections disposed below the normal water level, which latter is indicated by the dotted line 50 in Figures 1 and 8 of the drawings. Thus, when the Water in the front chamber I has attained a temperature equal to or nearly that of the water in the rear chamber 2', and has deposited nearly all of its foreign matter, it passes through the pipe 21 into the rear chamber, where it circulates much in the usual manner in locomotive boilers as indicated by the arrowsat the right of Figure l. The upper steam-containing areas of the chambers I and 2 are connected by an outside pipe 22, causing the pressure in these areas to be substantially equalized.

The rear chamber 2 of the boiler has a small dome 23 into which there extends the upwardly bent end 24 of a steam pipe 2 5vwhich passes through the partition I! and enters the inlet chamber l. The portion between the partitions I6 and I! is divided into an inlet chamber 4, an outlet chamber 5,, and a superheater chamber 3 by a perforated, horizontal baflie 25-, disposed relatively high with respect to the boiler, andv a substantially vertical partition 21 between the horizontal, baiile 2% and the shell in which divides the inlet chamber 4 and outlet chamber 5. A vertically depending bal'fie 28 extends downwardly from the horizontal baffle 26, terminating short of the boiler shell It] at the bottcm'thereof. Baille plates 29 and 39 also depend from the battle 26 in parallel relation with and spaced from the center baffle 23 and the outer shell I0. Baffles 3! shown in Figure 3 extend inwardly from the shell I0 to prevent a rush of steam around the inner 3 surface of the shell Ill. The horizontal baffle 26 is formed with a plurality of apertures 32 and 33 furnishing means of communication for the steam from the inlet steam chamber 4 down through the superheater chamber 3 to the outlet steam chamber 5 as indicated by the arrows.

The steam enters the inlet steam chamber 4 throughthe pipe and flows through the apertures 32 in the baffle 25 into the superheater chamber 3, where it is distributed between baflies 28, 29 and. Si! among the flue tubes l8 so that a maximum heat exchange between the fluetubes l8 and the steam takes place. The steam finally passes through the apertures 33 in the bafiie 26 to the outlet chamber 5.'

The apertures 32 through which the steam enters the superheater chamber 3 are formed of a greater diameter as they approach the shell and also as they approach the front partition i6, it being remembered that the steam inlet pipe 25 enters from the rear partition I! and near the longitudinal partition 2! (Figure 7) This variation in the sizes of the apertures results in a greater resistance to th pas-sage of the steam at points near the steam inlet than at points remote therefrom with the result that t1: flow of steam is properly distributed around the fiues in the superheater chamber 3. Since the steam passes beneath the lower edge of the bafile 28, there would be a tendency for it to concentrate its upward flow among that portion of the fiues l8 which are close to and forward of the lbaflle 2B. To offset this and improve steam distribution, theapertures 33 through which the steam enters the outlet chamber 5 are made larger as they approach th shell l0 (Figure '7 Also if it is found that the flow of steam tends to concentrate towards the center as distinguished from the parts thereof adjacent the partition Hi and baffle 28, the apertures 33 may be decreased in size towards the longitudinal center of the outlet chamber 5.

The outlet steam chamber 5 is provided with a steam dome 34 which receives the upwardly extended inlet pipe 35 of a throttle valve 36 which latter is mounted through a supporting bracket 31 or the like in the outlet chamber 5. This mounting of the throttle valve 36 which may be of the usual poppet type within the body of the boiler instead of the steam dome as is usual, reduces the size of the steam dome in a very beneficial manner while, at the sametime, leaving the valve readily accessible when access is needed. In addition, it decreases the size of the aperture that must be made in the shell I0. Furthermore, it facilitates the employment of a straight operating rod 38 leading to the cab, which is advantageous in that it avoids the lost motion incidental to the lever constructions usually employed for the purpose. The outlet end ofthe throttle valve is provided with two branch steam pipes 39 which pass out through the boiler shell and communicate with pipes 49 leading to the locomotive cylinders.

Since the difference in the pressure obtaining in the water chambers l and 2 on the one hand and the superheater chamber 3 on the other hand is never great, being only that which is occasioned by steam velocity, the walls and other parts of the superheater chamber 3, and the points at which the flues it pass through the partitions l6 and I I, need, not be constructed with meticulous care as to watertightness. There will usually be a slight leakage around the flues, and care is taken of this in the following manner.

A sump 4i is'provided at the bottom of the superheater, and with it is connected the inlet of a pump 42, which may be quite small, the outlet of which connects with the water chamber 2 (Figures 1 and 2). The pump is driven by a turbine 43 which receives its steam through a pipe 44 coupled up with the locomotive air pump 5i. Since it is standard practice not to move a locomotive without the air pump and brakes being in operation, the pump 42 will be running all of the time that the locomotive is at work, and will keep the superheater chamber free of any water that may gradually accumulate, therein. An auxiliary pump 52 is also shown connected to the air piston.

If, during running of the locomotive, the pump 42 should fail, any leakage water would be evaporated into steam by the flue tubes i8. If the locomotive should remain stationary for a material time, the lower part of thesuperheater chamber might have come to contain aconsiderable amount of water. In order to avoid running this water through the engine cylinders, a valve 45 (Figure 7) is provided, having an operating handwheel 46 disposed on the outside of the boiler, for throwing the inlet and outlet chambers into direct communication, under which circumstances the locomotive engine can be run as a saturated steam engine. After the locomotive has been run for a time the leakage water will have been evaporated, and the valve 45 can be closed, the locomotive then running under a slightly lower degree of superheat than the normal, Even though the pump 42 fails, it is never necessary to open the valve 45 unless the locomotive has been standing for a material time. Automatic float means can be provided, if found desirable, for controlling the opening and closing of the valve 45.

The dome 34 is provided chiefly as a safeguard against the pump 42 failing. However if, with the improved devices now becoming available, it is found that no such safeguard is necessary, the dome could be omitted, effecting very substantial economies.

A connection 41 (Figure 3) is provided for a water indicator in the cab; and a water glass 48 is provided, by means of which the engineer, in oiling or working around the locomotive, can note the conditions as to water in the superheater chamber.

It will be noted that my construction involves no restriction of size, either in the various holes or the various pipes that are employed in the superheater; whereas such restrictions are common in the case of the usual superheaters, such as those located in the smoke box of the locomotive. The passage areas that can be employed in carrying out my invention are several times those that would be available with prior superheater constructions.

In the ordinary locomotive boiler the water, except for circulation, is all at about the same temperature; so that if the fiues were made specially long the ends thereof remote from the fire box would extract heat from, instead of imparting heat to, the water. But in the construction of boiler here described and illustrated the front chamber I really acts as a preliminary heater to a considerable extent and as a boiler portion to a lesser extent. The result of this is that the lengthening of the flues is useful in giving a greater efilciency; since the ends adjacent the smoke box can give up their heat usefully to the relatively cooler water in the front chamber, The

temperature of the flue. gases beingthusreduced,

gives a'corres-ponding reduction of stack; velocity; so that the nozzle blast can be decreased, with a resulting lower back pressure in the locomotive cylinders.

A boiler constructed in accordance with; my invention is more simple, has less parts, and ofiers a much freer flow of steam than the ordinary boilers as heretofore constructed. Moreover its cost of construction is less.

After considerable use, it sometimes happens that a flue tube will split; and it is, in any case, usual to replace the flue tubes periodically, about every three years. Because of the presence of the intermediate partitions It and I1, such replacement might present some diificulty unless special provision were made, particularly as the flue tubes usually become covered with'scale. Accordingly, I provide the flue tubes 58 with en largements 55 and 55 (Figure 4) at the points where they will pass through the partitions It and H, the enlargements 55 being of greater diameter than the enlargements 56, Other enlargements 51 are provided at the ends wherethc tubes enter thimbles 58- carried by the front flue sheet 14, Then by driving a flue tube forward far enough for its enlargements 55 and 56 to be caused to pass out of the holes in the partitions l6 and I I- and the enlargement 5'1 to pass 'out of the thimble 5d, the flue tube can readily be removed lengthwise. Any scale accumulation on the tube will be of less diameter than the holes in the partitions and the thimble. In inserting the new tube, difficulty might be experienced in finding the holes in the partitions l6 and I1; since these partitions are inaccessible. Accordingly, I provide the tubes with ears 59. Since the end of a tube cannot sag down a distance more than the diameter of the tube, owing to the closeness with which the tubes are clustered, and since one end of the tube may be marked to show the position of the ear at the other end, when the tube is pushed through the front flue sheet, with the ear uppermost, the car will find its way into the proper hole in the partition Thereupon the tube can be turned about its axis until it makes alignment with the hole (Figure 6) and can be pushed therethrough.

It will be evident that this boiler is non-foaming in character. The conventional locomotive boiler has very great. restrictions in the superheater tubes. This is entirely eliminated in the present construction. The superheater chamber is several times the area of the flame passage in the cross-sections. a saturated steam dome and a dry throttle dome in series. The dry dome is above the superheater compartment which is kept free of water. In conventional boilers the domes are under a great stress because of the surge of water and steam. This results in the requirement of a thicker shell for attaching the dome thereto. The applicants superheater chamber is large in area and passage thereto is of substantial area, thereby eliminating surges of steam which otherwise would have to be taken care of in the steam dome.

Various changes may be made in the specific embodiment of my invention without departing from the spirit thereof or from the scope of the appended claims. This application is a continuation of my application, Serial No, 399,150, filed June 21, 1941.

I claim:

l. A boiler comprising a water compartment, a second water compartment, means for connecting I6 (Figure 5). =3

The applicant further provides said compartments, a superheater compartment disposed between said water compartments, flues extending through said water and superheater compartments, means on said fines for reducing to a minimum leakage into said superheater compartment, and supplementary power means for evacuating said leakage and returning it to the water compartment.

2. A steam boiler comprising a shell for receiving water, a firebox and a smoke outlet associated with said shell,.spaced full diameter partitions disposed intermediate the ends of said shell to enclose between them a superheater compartment, a pipe below the level of the water in said shell for connecting with each other the portions of said shell on each side of the superheater compartment, and means for pumping water from said superheater compartment to the water compartment adj acent said firebox.

3. A steam heater comprising a shell, transverse spaced partitions in said shell enclosing between them a heater compartment, flue tubes extending through said heater compartment, an apertured horizontal partition in said heater compartment above said fluetubes forming a heating chamber beneath said horizontal partition, a longitudinal upright partition dividing the space above said horizontal partition into a steam inlet chamber and a steam outlet chamber and means including a central longitudinally extending wall projecting downward from said horizontal partition forming a circuitous passage in said heating chamber for travel of steam from said inlet chamber to said outlet chamber.

4. A steam heater comprising a shell, transverse spaced partitions in said shell enclosing between them a heater compartment, flue tubes extending through said heater compartment, an apertured horizontal partition in said heater compartment above said flue tubes forming a heating chamber beneath said horizontal partition, a longitudinal upright partition dividing the space above said horizontal partition into a steam inlet chamber and a steam outlet chamber and means including a central longitudinally extending wall'projecting downward from said horizontal partition forming a circuitous passage in said heating chamber for travel of steam from said inlet chamber to said outlet chamber, and a plurality of longitudinal members extending radially inward from said shell.

5. A steam heater comprising a shell, transverse spaced partitions in said shell enclosing between them a heater compartment, flue tubes extending through said heater compartment, a horizontal partition in said heater compartment above said flue tubes forming a heating chamber beneath said horizontal partition, a longitudinal upright partition dividing the space above said horizontal partition into a steam inlet chamber and a steam outlet chamber, said horizontal partition having a plurality of apertures formed therein, said apertures being of progressively increasing diameter from said longitudinal upright partition toward said shell.

6. A steam heater comprising a shell, transverse spaced partitions in said shell enclosing between them a heater compartment, flue tubes extending through said heater compartment, a horizontal partition in said heater compartment above said flue tubes forming a heating chamber beneath said horizontal partition, a longitudinal upright partition dividing the space above said horizontal partition into a steam inlet chamber and a steam outlet chamber, a steam inlet port in'on'e of said transverse partitions for admission of steam to said steam inlet chamber, said horizontal partition having a plurality of apertures of progressively increasing diameter from said longitudinal upright partition toward said shell and from said ported transverse wall toward the opposite transverse wall of said steam inlet chamber. '7. In a steam boiler, a boiler shell, transverse spaced partitions in said shell enclosing between them a superheater compartment, flue tubes extending through said superheater compartment, an apertured horizontal partition in said superheater compartment above said flue tubes forming a superheating chamber beneath said horizontal partition, a longitudinal upright partition extending from one of said transverse partitions to the other of said transverse partitions and dividing the space above said horizontal partition into a steam inlet chamber and a steam outlet 20 chamber, valve controlled means providing direct connection between said steam inlet chamber and steam outlet chamber for operating said boiler as a saturated steam boiler.

8. In a steam boiler, a boiler shell, transverse 25 2,273,290

spaced partitions in said shell enclosing between them a superheater compartment, flue tubes eX- tending through said superheater compartment,

an apertured horizontal partition in said super- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 943,189 Haughton- Dec. 14, 1909 989,781 Haughton Apr. 18, 1911 783,460 Pielock Feb. 28, 1905 809,683 Haughton Jan. 9, 1906 859,561 1111 July 9, 1907 1,013,968 Taylor Jan. 9, 1912 1,159,181 Crowell Nov. 2, 1915 Schellens et a1 Feb. 17, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 398,536 French Mar. 26, 1909 

